Tita Muñoz: The survivor

She was once tagged as the Jennifer Jones and Elizabeth Taylor of the Philippines. "That embarrassed me no end," she says.

Now, Maria Teresa Muñoz, better known as Tita Muñoz, describes herself as a survivor. "I survived a heart stroke that resulted from a blood clot and then after I had recovered, I had an accident in the bathroom that broke my hip. A piece of stainless steel is inserted to replace the broken bone and I now have to walk with a cane."

She lives alone in her own apartment in Pasay. "I just have a helper who comes twice a week to do the laundry and clean my place."

The eldest and only girl among six kids, two of her brothers have passed away due to heart disease while another one, Louie (the father of young actors Leandro and Carlo Muñoz) also has a heart problem. The other surviving brothers are Rafael and Cayetano.

"But we now each have our own lives and I don’t want to be a burden to them," she says. "Cayetano is a doctor and he lives with his family in the States." She started her career as a radio announcer in the ’50s, after she majored in history at the Lyceum. "Someone got me at DZPI, the government’s radio station which had its station at the Republic Supermarket along Rizal Avenue. We were not being paid, though. We get our earnings from doing radio commercials. I became the highest-paid radio talent. I was getting P50 per minute. My rival was the late Bob Stewart, but eventually, I got paid more at P75 a minute. Then I was chosen as the Camay Girl, after Paquita Roces, who married Armando Goyena. I modeled for their print ads. It was Ernie Evora of the Graphic who urged me to try the movies. The problem is I didn’t know how to speak Tagalog. I only speak English and Spanish. An independent producer launched me in a movie, Rosalinda, where I played the title role. It was a disaster. I remember I had to memorize all my Tagalog lines, syllable by syllable, and the first line that I was made to say was the tongue-twisting ‘Kinasusuklaman kita’. And I had a hard time saying it correctly."

From there, she moved to Sampaguita Pictures, one of the established movie outfits that time. "I was made to play the role of movie star Elsa Oria in the film biography, Kasaysayan ni Rudy Concepcion, which starred Pancho Magalona. Then, because of my aristocratic looks daw, I was assigned the role of a Spanish señorita named Blanquita in El Indio starring Cesar Ramirez. I also played contravida to Linda Estrella in Teksas, Ang Manok na Nagsasalita, based on a komiks novel. I remember Mommy Vera got angry with me because somebody reported that hindi ako marunong makisama with the rest of the stars. And it’s true. My only friends then were Eddie Romero, the director, and Ric Rodrigo. I was suspended for one week. But later, she fetched me from my home to talk to me. I told her I didn’t mix with some of the stars because one of them kept on talking about sex all the time and I felt offended, so I chose to just read a book of Ayn Rand during shooting breaks. She understood me but she told me to try to mix well with the others."

She is proud that as an actress, she got the chance to work with the country’s best directors, like National Artists for Film Gerry de Leon in Lilet. Lino Brocka in Now and Stardoom, and Ishmael Bernal in Sugat sa Ugat and Pahiram ng Isang Umaga.

"I almost won the Best Actress in the Asian Film Festival for the film, Flight of the Sparrow, directed by Rolf Bayer. The problem is there was not a single delegate from the Philippines, so they decided not to give it anymore. I also did a lot of good work in the award-winning TV series, Balintataw, with Directors Lupita, she was still Concio then, Joey Gosiengfiao and Elwood Perez."

Was she ever married? "I was, but let’s not mention my husband’s name anymore. My life with him for four years was hell. Sinasakal niya ako because of jealousy. I got pregnant with twins but they were born prematurely and died. I never married again. I was scared."

She was living alone in Better Living Subdivision in Parañaque when she had a stroke "My neighbors there were fantastic. They took good care of me. I was staying in an expensive hospital and one of them said she has a relative in PGH so I was moved there. I stayed in a ward with seven people in it. The relatives of the other patients came to me to tell me their stories. They were all very nice. But one day, someone next to me died so I requested to be transferred to a solo room. When I got well, I stayed at a dorm in the Hospicio de San Jose for six months while undergoing rehabilitation. I liked it there because the chapel is just a few steps away and I could hear Mass everyday. Then Cherie Gil offered me her condo when she left and that’s where I fell in the bathroom and broke my hip.

There were times when I feel so down and I talked to the Lord, if You don’t have anything left for me to do here, I think I better just go home to You. Then, all of a sudden, I got this call from GMA-7 telling me they have been looking for me for a long time to cast me in their hit soap opera, Sana Ay Ikaw Na Nga. Of course, I accepted their offer right away because I really want to act again."

She now plays the Haughty Donya Amparo, the mother of Gilbert (Eric Quizon), a doctor who helps the soap’s heroine, Cecilia (played by Tanya Garcia).

"Actually, I want Consuelo (Angelu de Leon) for my son," she adds. "But when I meet Cecilia whose face is disfigured, I agree to help in her plastic surgery so her former face can be restored. The movie is also a reunion for me and Tirso Cruz III, who plays a villain in the story. He was my son in two movies, in Lino Brocka’s Now with Lea Productions, where Eddie Garcia was my husband and in Elwood Perez’ Till We Meet Again. I’m really glad to be working again, particularly in a popular drama like Sana Ay Ikaw Na Nga where everyone treats me nicely."

Does she often see her nephews Leandro and Carlo?

"Very seldom. They live far from me in San Francisco del Monte and they’re also busy. But when they were little boys, I used to see them all the time. I’d like to be given the chance to work with them although they’re with ABS-CBN. Someone told me it’d be nice for me to be a presentor with them as my escorts in an awards night. I think that’s a great idea for all of us to be seen together in public for the first time."

Any takers?